An Old Flame
by Autumn's Wind
Summary: Years in the future...Sasuke is a brilliant ANBU while Sakura is a famous medic gone on a research trip. His mission gives them the chance to find new feelings and the opportunity to fulfill them... Sasuke x Sakura
1. Salvation

_**AN OLD FLAME**_

By Autumn's Wind

**I. Salvation**

The moment he took the mission he was warned by its high risks and that, in case of a failure, a medic nin should be around that area.

And now, he was desperately searching for that medic, strolling in the woods with a rather large gash by his side. He also knew who that medic could be. She left a year ago on a medical research trip and from then on, she kept sending reports to the Hokage.

But the problem was that a report like that hasn't been received for a month and rumors about her death became more frequent.

Just before he left for this dangerous mission, the Hokage received information about an unknown medic near the Land of Wind. Maybe it was her...they all hoped that she was alive and now that a mission took place near the place the medic was seen and he was badly injured, he had to find _her_ because he really hoped and believed the medic was _her_...Sakura.

A throb from the large gash made him put his hand on his stomach, only to remove it from there drenched in blood...his blood. In that instant he realized the urgency with which he had to find a medic. If he didn't, he would die from blood loss and he will never have the chance to see if she was there...to see her again.

His movements became slower as time passed by and fatigue entered his system. He leaned his back on a tree and slipped down to the base of it, trying to catch his breath. He looked at the gash he had on his stomach and even if he tried to treat it, he had neither clean bandages nor healing techniques to use. He pressed his hand on his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding but didn't help too much. Something seemed to counter his countering.

When he looked around him all he could see was dirt and a few trees there and there.

But something else was what kept plaguing his mind. His mind would always drift away to a certain green eyed medic that had unique pale pink hair. Even when he concentrated o his surroundings for a second his mind kept wandering on his former teammate's whereabouts.

He managed to push those thoughts away as he slowly got up from the ground and kept walking...to where? He didn't know...

All he knew was that he won't allow himself to die leaning against a tree just like that. He was going to find that medic and he was going to have so much faith in it that it will actually happen.

So, he kept walking, taking slow strides until he saw a few houses. As he approached them he realized he must have reached a small town, by the looks of it. Few people were walking on the dusty road and there was no sign of any shinobi, or if there were any, they were simply too weak to even be taken in consideration.

He tried his best to act like he wasn't that weakened and walk like a normal man would, but people still looked strangely at him, because of his shinobi attire. Tired of those looks he approached an old lady, who looked as if she was expecting him to come to her.

"Do you know if there is any medic nin around here?" he asked her in a whisper.

"Go to the right, beside that cliff." She whispered back as she pointed to a relatively small cliff.

Using what was left of his chakra, he reached the hill in less than a minute, breathing heavily. From where he was, he could see the front of a small, wooden house. The wound on his stomach ached even more as it seemed to remind him of his condition, and he winced in pain.

He tried to step forward but his leg moved too slowly that he stumbled across a rock. Luckily for him he managed to grab a hold of a small tree. His limbs became number by the second and he thought he might collapse if it weren't for the strong hold somebody had on him.

When he looked up, he saw her figure standing right in front of him...her astounding pink hair, her brilliant yet piercing green eyes, her full lips and her pale skin. She wore a confused, yet worried expression on her face, probably because she didn't expect him to be there, much less in the precarious condition he was in.

"Sasuke...what happened?" she asked seriously. His eye lids were closing slowly and he didn't notice when she put him on the ground, placing her healing hands on his stomach.

He began feeling her healing chakra flowing through his sore body, and by looking at her, he wondered if she wasn't an angel that landed on earth to save him. He noticed the concentration visible on her face and he found himself admiring her and her amazing abilities once more.

She and Naruto, his best friend and brother, found him right after he killed Itachi, but he didn't remember much of that day. He only remembered his sudden victory and him fading slowly away.

He felt something pulling him back to consciousness, by giving impulses to his body but he didn't wake up until next day when he was already in Konoha's hospital. After that day he began redoing the bond he once said he didn't need.

Naruto was acting just like a brother with him, always determined to bring Sasuke on the good way again.

Sakura was acting, surprisingly for the Uchiha, like a sister too. She no longer seemed to show her fangirl attitude but rather a sisterly one. She no longer persuaded him to come at a date with her. She no longer defended him from the silliest things.

She yelled at him when he did something wrong, that happened to irritate her, so she no longer had to hide her anger from him. She showed a concerned look when he came injured from missions, but it was the same look she threw to Kakashi or Naruto when they had injuries.

So, he concluded she no longer loved him either.

He was sixteen when he came back. Now he was twenty and he felt as if he still had things to learn about her and his friends.

"ANBU mission..." he managed to say before coughing some blood. Sakura looked at him with a sad smile.

"That turned out completely wrong?" she finished for him, before closing her eyes, maybe because she needed to concentrate, or maybe because she had to stop some tears from flowing "Don't worry...I"

"Sakura..." he whispered, making her stop her talking and look at him again. She continued pumping her chakra in his body, as their eyes met. Although he felt better thanks to her abilities, he began feeling drowsy, and despite the fight he held to keep his eyes opened, he could do nothing more but fade off to sleep, with an image embedded in his mind...Sakura's tear sliding down her cheek.

-x-

When he woke up again, he was no longer on the hard ground but on a rather soft and comfortable mattress. He opened his eyes and looked around him. He was in a cozy room that was a bit small, painted in a warm brown, matching the wood that made up the walls. He stood on his elbows as he surveyed the room with his eyes. He felt no pain at all as he moved and he was grateful for finding her...she saved him.

He searched for her chakra signature but he didn't find it. Maybe she was somewhere else or she just preferred to keep it masked all the time. He stood up even more so that he sat on the edge of the bed with his feet touching the floor. For a second he felt a soft prick where his large wound was and as he tried to look down at himself he noticed he wore no shirt, but only his pants.

He was shirtless and a soft smirk appeared on his lips.

In the spot where the gash was, only a small bandage was placed. She was definitely an expert at healing, he thought, if she was able to reduce the large size of the wound, that much. He stood up on his feet and he felt that prick again as he walked towards the door he thought led to the bathroom. He was right and he could see his shirt and vest hanging dampened on a wire.

He looked at himself in the mirror and was quite surprised to see the tint of a smile on his face.

After washing his face, complete silence swathed him.

He got more curious about Sakura's whereabouts by the minute. His stomach demanded food, and as he searched for the kitchen, the floor in the hall cracked as he stepped. When he found the kitchen he found out there was already a meal prepared for him, meaning that she expected him to wake up that morning.

When he came back inside the bedroom he noticed the variety of scrolls and papers on a shelf as well as on a small desk. They were probably the result of her research; after all, that was what her mission consisted of, or that's what he thought.

He picked up a scroll at random and his thoughts were proven right. Complex healing jutsu, apparently used for brain damage, was explained right on the paper in front of his eyes.

Medicine wasn't his favorite subjects so he abandoned his short 'study', propping himself on the bed, suddenly feeling drowsy again. Gazing outside the window he took notice of the rainy afternoon.

Where could she be at a time like that, he wondered. He was getting more impatient because of her absence but as he lied there on the bed he felt himself slowly succumbing to sleep.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked the new idea that occurred to me

Some reviews would be welcomed;)

Until next time...


	2. Friends

_**AN OLD FLAME**_

By Autumn's Wind

**II. Friends**

For almost a week she had been trying to convince that old woman to teach her the jutsu, and she always declined.

But, now, with the help of a divine miracle, the woman suddenly changed her mind. It looked like she was tired of being selfish, and wanted to pass the jutsu to somebody capable, before she died and took the technique with her.

And so, she realized Sakura was a capable kunoichi, and had agreed to pass her the jutsu.

As the pink haired medic left the building the old woman was, she noticed that it was already nightfall, and it was still raining. Glad that she had the scroll with the jutsu, she covered her head with the hood of her cloak, and walked slowly towards her house.

If someone would have walked next to her, they wouldn't see the tear that slid down her cheek, because of the hood and mostly because nobody walked outside their houses on such weather.

Mud was already all over the place and Sakura didn't even bother to avoid the swamps.

The feelings she thought she had buried in the deepest and darkest corner of her heart, were now emerging once again, just by the sight of him, in a life-threatening condition. But she managed to get control over her heart even before she left on her mission.

Team 7 managed to get Sasuke back to Konoha, after killing his brother. She treated his wounds, and so, not allowing him to fade away. He wasn't even conscious when they reached him , but he woke up for a short amount of time, asking if he really killed his brother and if they were going back to Konoha.

After that he fell asleep once again.

They brought him to Konoha and he woke up the next day in the hospital. Both her and Naruto were there when he did so. They hugged him and Sasuke barely moved.

Sakura was grieved at the moment by his behavior. She imagined how hard it must be to kill your own brother, even after he did so many things, and she didn't find the image attractive.

He barely spoke, more like staring at nothing in particular. When she got home, that night, she was feeling both happy and sad. Happy that team 7 could be reunited, but sad after she imagined the suffering he went through.

It wasn't easy, but as days and weeks passed, a new bond began forming between the three of them. It was a deeper friendship than the one they had when they were genin.

Sasuke confessed them how he felt, and immediately after that, Sakura and Naruto enveloped him into a big hug, which Sasuke returned this time.

And so, they were once again friends...best friends.

And by seeing that he only thought of her like that –as a friend-, she decided she should put an end to her sufferings, by moving on...by burying those feelings she had.

She didn't know how, but she managed to do it. So, every time she saw him, her heart didn't beat that fast, nor did she feel the urge to jump on him and kiss him senseless while confessing her love for him. He was slightly injured on a mission but she healed his arm with joy and relief that one of her best friends didn't suffer a fatal injury.

And so, she concluded she only loved him as a friend. That crush she had on him dissipated.

They achieved the jounin rank, and to everyone's amusement it was Sakura who did it first, due to her already chuunin rank, while the boys reached her in two months, as they had to upgrade two times, from genin to chuunin, and from chuunin to jounin.

A few months later they joined the ANBU forces together, as a team. They did an excellent job and everyone regarded them as some of the best shinobi in the village.

But everyone had to pick their road again, and so, Sakura found herself accepting a long term mission, consisting especially on research and collecting useful jutsu for medics. It was a solo mission, and therefore the risks were pretty high, but now everyone thought high of her and didn't consider necessary to doubt her abilities.

She was nineteen when she took the mission. The Hokage gave her the exact details and on her last night there, she went to a large restaurant together with the others from the Rookie 9. They formed one large group of friends and every time one of them had a long term mission they would dine there.

She hugged Sasuke then and he just told her to come back with a success.

The next morning she left for her research trip, with her cloak on.

She was now twenty. She knew she hadn't sent a report for a month but she was way too busy to write all the talks she had with the old woman in order to convince her to pass her the jutsu.

Her gaze lifted to the sky and a droplet of rain hit her eyelashes, making her close her eye. Now, she didn't know if the tear that slid down her cheek was from the rain, or she actually cried.

She never thought she would have this reaction on seeing him again, much less in the condition he was in. She began to doubt that she managed to seal those feelings. Her heart began beating faster just by thinking that she was going back to the house and he would probably be awake.

All she could do, now, was walking in the rain, as the mud stuck to her feet...

-x-

When she got inside, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, still shirtless, with a weapon on his lap. His hands studied the tool, as they slid near the sharp edges. He didn't lift his gaze when she got inside the room and stopped near the doorframe.

"Where have you been?" he asked smoothly.

"I had an appointment." She answered as she sat next to him "Are you in pain, somehow?"

He shook his head, before looking up in her eyes.

"Why are your eyes a bit red?" he asked.

"I'm tired." She lied.

Whether he believed her or not, he did not reply back.

"Where did you get this?" he asked pointing to the small blade.

"Spoils." She answered casually.

He gave her a smirk, when she spoke. She took interesting spoils, so he only concluded her past opponents must have been interesting too.

"Why haven't you sent a report for such long time?" he asked, curious to hear her reasons.

She remained silent for a while. Truth to be told, other than her laziness or her tiredness, there wasn't much.

"I...did I cause trouble?" she asked back.

"You did."

"I see."

"Rumors of your death appeared...you should have at least countered your laziness."

And the fact that he almost read her thoughts infuriated her, but she pushed that feeling aside.

"I wasn't lazy." She lied "I just didn't have time." Maybe she spoke the truth there.

He didn't answer as she got up from the bed. He took notice of her muddy feet and the rain soaked clothes. She opened the wardrobe and pulled some clean clothes and then headed towards the bathroom leaving prints of mud on the floor.

She had been traveling for a while in the rain, he concluded.

Sasuke got up from the bed and went towards a high shelf, where he found the blade. The water from the shower could be heard, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Instead, his inner turmoil was what troubled him. He hadn't seen her for an year and now that they met again he was amazed to see how much a person can change in a year. The aura surrounding her seemed more powerful and she seemed to have learnt a myriad of things from all the traveling she had had.

The proof stood right in front of his eyes. Scrolls, papers, all kinds of plants and medicines, and even weapons could be found in her new place. These were the things she gathered throughout all this year.

He wondered what would be the Hokage's opinion about all these.

Then, his mind went back to her features. With them all in Konoha, he barely noticed how much she changed over the years.

But as he met her again after a year, he was slightly amazed by her matured features. Her eyes, even though they showed how worried she was when they met, now seemed to have an experienced spark in them.

Her hair was still the same, yet it seemed so different.

And he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize Sakura finished her shower, until she was out of the bathroom, clad in a dark green shirt and black shorts.

He noticed her glance at his bare chest and she seemed lost in thoughts for a moment. He felt the urge to smirk at her ogling and then she suddenly walked towards him.

But to his dismay, she just passed by him and went to her wardrobe, searching thoroughly, while he stared.

He would have bet she was coming his direction and she would jump on him and hug him to death or maybe he expected a kiss from her, judging by the way she looked at the revealed skin of his body.

"Aha...there." she said as she got up again and tossed him a dark brown shirt, which he grabbed quickly and put it on him.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, suddenly intrigued by the reason she would have for having a man's shirt in her house.

"Oh...I found it when I got this house...I forgot I even had it." She said as she laughed a bit, arranging her things back.

"What happened with your mission?" she asked softer as she stopped laughing.

"Ambush." He simply replied, as she turned around to face him completely.

"Did no one else survive?"

"I don't know...we split to better cover the area and that was how it began."

"I see." She said gazing at the floor "But how did you know I was here?" she asked the question she forgot to ask before.

"It seemed that the stupid Hokage received information about a medic being spotted near the place our mission was supposed to be completed."

"Why do you keep calling him stupid?" she asked a bit enraged by his cocky attitude.

"Isn't he?" he asked back with a smirk.

"He is a kage and if he reached that level he can't be stupid Sasuke." She said trying to calm herself down.

"Fine..." he sighed.

"Go on."

"We already knew the risks were high and it was perfect to have a medic nearby, just in case everything went wrong."

"You could have taken a medic with you, then." She said.

"It isn't that easy."

"Explain..."

"If we brought a medic with us, then our whole strategies would have been crushed."

"And what if the rumors of me being here weren't true?" she asked back.

"Then I guess it would have been just bad luck."

And then the room went silent, and they stared at each other, before her gaze traveled outside her window.

"What did I miss while I was gone?" she asked him out of the blue.

"The dobe's orders." He replied as another smirk appeared on his face, when noticing her struggles to keep her anger in control. Though she seemed so different, her anger problems were still there and he wondered if she would ever get rid of them. But then, that would no longer be Sakura.

And the fact that he still called their blond teammate 'stupid' even after he became Hokage, seemed to have pushed a wrong button.

"Anything else?" she groaned loud enough for him to hear.

It was exactly how he thought. She would still be a moody person, always fighting her emotions. She could be angry a second and then the next second she could appear as calm as ever...like she did now. Though he knew that was just on the outside. On the inside she probably wanted to rip his mouth for insulting their friend

"The others also miss you." He said. And by the way he said it he hoped that she would realize that he meant he missed her too; though he would never openly admit it.

"I know." She whispered, closing her eyes.

The obscurity of the night was like a black curtain on her window...it was already midnight and she felt tired.

He could tell it by her body language.

"You can have the bed." She whispered as she turned around.

"And you can have it too." He replied, making Sakura turn around with a smirk on her face.

"If we agree that much, we could easily share it." She said, the smirk still in place.

"Hn." He replied with his trademark smirk.

And she didn't know why but she felt the urge to run over the bed to get the best part of the blanket, which she actually did.

He joined her seconds after, having to pull the blanket a bit to cover himself as well. Her smirk was still there.

"You really shouldn't have invited me here." She said as she pulled the whole blanket on her, leaving Sasuke with nothing.

"You shouldn't have invited me either...and that's not the only blanket I can use." He said as his smirk grew wider.

He, then, grabbed Sakura and pulled her to him. He was going to use her as a blanket and thanks to the heat she, now, emanated it would be just perfect for him.

_To be continued_

* * *

A/N: I hope I did this chapter well

Review please...


	3. Much more

_**AN OLD FLAME**_

By Autumn's Wind

**III. Much more**

Though she was let out of breath because of his bold acts she managed to get a hold of herself and calm her heart's swift beats. She also knew it was all just a game of his, trying to explore her emotions by any means.

Therefore, she struggled to not give him to pleasure to melt right in front of him, because of his mere touch. She relaxed her mind in order to fall asleep faster, and only in a few minutes she managed to do so.

The next morning she woke up in the middle of the bed, with him nowhere to be seen. But despite of his absence she knew he hadn't left the house, or if he did, he just didn't go too far.

So she slowly got up from the warm mattress, and headed towards the bathroom to wash her face.

With sleep far way now, she stepped out of her room towards the kitchen where a mild fragrance invaded her nostrils. It was definitely coming from her strawberry pancakes and she immediately found the answer to her previous question.

He was standing right at her table, enjoying one of her pancakes.

"Do you like it?" she asked with a smile as she stood on the chair opposite from him, taking a pancake too.

"Hn."

"Still with your appetite for talking, right?"

"..."  
She sighed. If this still continued like this, it would probably irritate her in the end.

"You will have to stay here for one more day." She said, feeling the urge to start a conversation. At this he looked up at her and met her gaze. "I can help you to find your teammates."

"They are at Konoha." He said.

"How do you know?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow at his statement.

At this he leaned over the counter and grabbed a small scroll, passing it to her.

As she scanned it she noticed the paper of it that was specifically from Konoha, and with a hand seal the scroll revealed its secret.

"So they made it in the end." She said after finishing reading.

"Indeed."

"And they assumed you got here."

"Probably."

"Then, how about I put you through a quick check up and after that a healing session?" she asked as she got up from the table to grab some tea.

He said nothing.

"I'll wait for you upstairs." She said as she left with the cup of tea.

He was left in silence after that.

He couldn't explain what he was feeling, but the mere thought of him having to leave was making him terribly tense.

xXx

"There you go." She said as she finished healing him and got up from bed.

She looked proudly at her handwork, though her smile faded moments later as she realized the implications of this act. She headed towards the window, where she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You can now leave whenever you want." She said blankly.

He was more than confused by her sudden change of mood...from cheerful to grieved in less than a minute. But he should have known just how moody she could be.

And then, out of the blue, a spark of light removed the darkness from his mind.

She was grieve-stricken because he was leaving...he was leaving her...again... That meant she still had feelings for him, even if they weren't that strong anymore, as a result of her constant struggle to bury them.

"How long will this mission last?" he asked with a sudden tint of hope.

She cast him a side-long glance over her shoulder.

"I don't know." She said turning back towards the window.

"..." she knew his silence demanded somehow an explanation.

"I still have a few jutsu to collect."

An eerie silence followed next...eerie, because Sakura was in the room and usually it wasn't like this. But she chose silence this time.

Yet a silence that didn't last too much as she turned around with a smile on her face. Whether or not it was fake, it was quite convincing.

"You have to tell the others how much I miss them, when you get back."

"I'm no one's messenger." He said as she threw him a glare.

"Then how about I throw you out with no victuals and no gear? I'm curios to know how you will make it to Konoha safely..." she spoke indignant.

He smirked...she was so predictable sometimes.

"That's the least you can do to thank me for healing you." She continued with a pout "Jerk." And then a little smirk of her own competed with Sasuke's.

She went to her desk and grabbed a scroll, before throwing it to Sasuke.

"Also, I will appreciate if you take this to Konoha with you and hand it to Naruto."

He gazed at the scroll and studied it for a few moments. It had strange seals that only few knew...definitely confidential.

He barely noticed when Sakura handed him his ANBU uniform.

"You can wear these, though there are some gashed through them from your last battle...I'll be outside."

And with that she exited the room, leaving him alone.

xXx

He began feeling a pressure in his chest that made his heartbeat accelerate at the thought of having to leave. He didn't knew when he could see her next and for a second, the possibility of this being the last time he saw her, passed through his mind...only for a second.

He was more than intrigued by the way he felt. He couldn't move from his spot on the edge of the bed.

He cast a glance at the gear next to him and every time he decided to grab it to equip himself, and therefore, prepare for his departure, his body simply won't move...it wasn't obeying him.

His heart did the same.

It was something that never happened to him before...the ardent desire to stick with someone. Maybe it had to do with his recent condition...Him, being close to death, with no one to rely on, and then her sudden appearance.

He clearly remembered his thoughts at that point.

_She was an angel...his angel..._

And he seriously began thinking at that. It was becoming more and more clear to him that his subconscious was revealing things he had never thought of.

It must have been a long time since Sakura left him alone, as she now appeared in the doorframe, visibly confused.

He knew why...he hadn't moved an inch. But he began to understand the reason...and how strong that particular reason was.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He didn't look at her. So much absorbed in his thoughts he was. The revelation was too profound and he had to admit it was touching.

"Go gather your stuff." He said as he pulled the vest over the shirt Sakura gave him and moved to prepare his weaponry.

"W-what?" she asked even more confused.

"You're coming back with me." He simply said.

"But my mission isn't..."

She was immediately silence by his glare.

"Are you going to keep gathering useless jutsu from all over the world just to run away from yourself? Gather your stuff."  
"What is wrong with you?" she managed to ask.

"Nothing."

"You can't just order me around, Sasuke. You know very well I have a mission to complete. And thanks to this mission I was able to be here to save your ass." She continued as her temper was more and more aflame.

As he finished fixing his shoes, he slowly stood up, not looking at her.

"Why do you are about what I do? Why don't you just leave me alone as you used to do?"

He went towards the desk and grabbed a sheet of paper filled with her writing. The next second she was right next to him, snatching her paper back. Her glare clearly said it wasn't his right to look in there.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

He, then, looked at her. His face was blank.

"It's not easy for me, Sakura."

"What's troubling you?" she asked, voice full of emotion, as she raised her right hand to caress his cheek. Their eyes were glued together.

And then, he did the unexpected, as he gently grabbed the hand caressing his cheek and brought it to his lips, putting a kiss on it, while Sakura stared with her mouth agape at him.

It was only a minute later that she managed to react, but it wasn't the reaction she had planned. Sasuke put her right hand back to his cheek, trying to tell her something through this weird language of his.

She came closer to him and brought her left hand to comb his hair at the back of his head. She leaned in until they were inches apart. She was giving him an impulse, responding to the one he gave her.

Sunbeams illuminated their faces as Sasuke removed the barrier between the two of them. Hand snaked around her waist and shoulders, he caressed her lips with his own. By looking at her face again he knew it was no longer an unrequited love. This time, he kissed her with a passion he didn't know he held. His heart throbbed achingly in his chest as if a long lost thing was now found.

It was the realization that hit him so hard. The years they lost together, because of him being a fool.

"Forgive me." He simply said, after they parted away. She looked up at him...those mesmerizing green eyes...and gave him a smile.

"Forgive me too." She whispered pecking him.

The birds outside seemed to sing a lullaby for the two shinobi.

"Tomorrow you're coming back with me." Sasuke said as she rested her head on his chest.

"Why tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm willing to spend some more time alone with you."

"Then let's make it the day after tomorrow."

She giggled softly and he smirked. The idea seemed more pleasant.

"Agreed."  
And he thought of them being alone...far away from anything else...

He kissed her hair, then gazed outside her window. He received the opportunity to get to know her in a way he hadn't dreamt of.

A smile...a true smile appeared on his face...

_THE END_


End file.
